Read this! Amazing interview with hacker Gary McKinnon

[BGonaSTICK]

In 2002, Gary McKinnon was arrested by the UK's national high-tech crime unit, after being accused of hacking into Nasa and the US military computer networks.

He says he spent two years looking for photographic evidence of alien spacecraft and advanced power technology.

America now wants to put him on trial, and if tried there he could face 60 years behind bars.

Banned from using the internet, Gary spoke to Click presenter Spencer Kelly to tell his side of the story, ahead of his extradition hearing on Wednesday, 10 May. You can read what he had to say here.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...ne/4977134.stm

Source: BBC

Whilst some of what he says he found on US Government computers is probably a load of rubbish, the details of the hack are gob-smackingly simple!

This is what hacking is all about, not reverse engineering receiver code or unravelling encrypted data

[BGonaSTICK]

The UK government on Thursday approved the extradition of a computer expert accused by the US of perpetrating the world's "biggest military hack of all time".

Gary McKinnon was arrested in June last year following charges by US prosecutors that he illegally accessed 97 US government computers, including the Army, NASA, Navy and Pentagon systems, and causing $700,000 worth of damage.

Home secretary John Reid has signed an order for his extradition, according to the Home Office.

McKinnon, who could face up to 70 years in jail and fines of up to $1.75m, said he was planning to appeal against the decision, telling BBC News 24: "I am very worried and feeling very let down by my own government."

The Home Office said McKinnon now has 14 days to appeal.

McKinnon, whose hacking name was 'Solo', has admitted gaining access to US government computers but denies causing any damage.

He had tried to fight extradition, saying he was "already hung and quartered over there" and would not receive a fair trial.

Prosecutors said McKinnon hacked into sensitive networks over a one-year period from February 2002, crippling US defence systems in the wake of the 11 September, 2001, terr0rist attacks.

At the time of the indictment, Paul McNulty, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said: "McKinnon is charged with the biggest military computer hack of all time."

Source: BBC

Bullshit. Yes, the guy is a hacker, but he was hardly committing "the biggest military computer hack of all time".

You or I could have done this with really very basic tools available in Windows and from your local high street. The guy is a bit of a fruit-loop, but is, as the HHGTTG regards the Earth, 'mostly harmless'. The US government's security services should take a long hard look at themselves and their procedures.

McKinnon's going to be eating a lot of American prison food.

[alcina]

Originally Posted by BGonaSTICK

the details of the hack are gob-smackingly simple!

Ah blank passwords. Sigh...the biggest threat to any organisation comes from within. I cannot begin to tell you the arguments I have at work with people who say things like "But I don't mind if anyone reads my email, I've got nothing to hide". That's not the point! You have a valid login to the systems which allows all sorts of access...and just because you only use it to read your email doesn't mean that someone else will stop there! And no...your name with 1 after it is not a proper password!

On the flip side...he did this on dail-up I love it when the users here whinge that they can't even write a letter on their supa-dupa-soupped-up-top-of-the-range-flashy computer because "it's too slow". For goodness people...you have more power in your mobile phone than they had at NASA either to put man on the moon or to fake it so convincingly that we still can't prove it, yet you still whinge it's "too slow to be useable"!

Sorry...struck a nerve there....I'll go back under the table now...

Alcina

[BGonaSTICK]

LOL, you think it's slow now?!?! Wait till you upgrade to Vista! :roflmao:

Vista still accepts blank passwords too...

[alcina]

Me mac user and unix weeney Don't care if Vista is slow :roflmao:

Ahem...actually...no...I do because it means the ol' pile o'***** that I use as a windows box to run things like the patching programs won't cope. Damn...I really must hone the reverse-engineering skills and try to port these things to *nix.... :spite:

Alcina